SIERRA YOUTH

Sierra Youth Podcast: News You Can Use in Bite-sized Pieces

By Brynna Kagawa-Visentin Chair Sierra Youth Executive Committee

10 Minutes to Change is Sierra Youth’s new podcast! Starting in January 2021, this podcast features conversations for a healthy planet with the understanding that environmental and climate news can often seem overwhelming.

10 Minutes breaks tough topics down discussing them in a way that is digestible for everyone. At the core of their work is climate, racial, and gender justice. New podcasts are released 2 or 3 times a month.

They recently had a conversation with Corinne RiceGrey Cloud, an inspiring Indigenous educator who talk- ed about how we can go above and beyond land acknowledgements to further reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Sierra Youth also recently had an empowering episode talking amongst themselves about all things regarding International Women’s Day, what it means to be a woman, and how to lift up LGBTQ2S+ individuals and communities.

You can find their new podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Please follow them on Instagram @10minutestochangepodcasts and subscribe to their podcast.

Good Environmental News

• The Magpie River gets rights! The first river in Canada to be recognized as a legal person last month, the Magpie river in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region, has been granted legal rights including the right to flow, to maintain its biodiversity, and to take legal action.

• Right whale baby boom - The North Atlantic right whale numbers only about 360, and it has been hindered in recent years by high mortality and low reproduction. But this year 18 newborn whales have been spotted. The highest number in 8 years!

In March, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the federal government’s carbon pricing regime is constitutional, bringing an end to years of provincial legal challenges to a key cornerstone of federal climate policy.

• The Niitsitapi Water Protectors are a grassroots Indigenous group rasing their voice to protect the Eastern Slopes and headwaters in Alberta.They have been pivotal in opening up consultations for the new AB coal policy. Much work is still needed but big thanks to the Niitsitapi who are mobilizing and unifying groups for this battle.

• The Tyre Collective, a group of grad students in Britain, are winning awards with their device capturing and diverting microplastics. Tire particles are the second most prevalent microplastic pollutant found in the ocean.

• In March, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the federal government’s carbon pricing regime is constitutional bringing an end to years of provincial legal challenges to a key cornerstone of federal climate policy. There are some great quotes in The Energy Mix on this.